Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1887-01-07
Friday, January =, 1857.
THE GOVERNOR,s mEs~A1

GOV kSkkNOEk'S M ESSAGE.
Governor Lounsbury's first message, which
we print in full this morning, will be read
with interest. It contains much that is we'll
worth reading and some flowers of rhetoric
It is too long, but we suppose that people
do not expect a president, governor,
even mayor, to deliver a short message. If
they do they are likely to be disappointed.
The Governor first considers the State
finances, which are, as usual, in satisfac-
tory condition. Bonds bearing interest at
the rate of five per cent, and amounting to
one million and thirty thousand dollars, are
due May first, 1897, but are redeemable at
the pleasure of the State after the first of
next May. He recommends that these bonds
be paid as soon as they become redeemable
and that funds for this purpose be provided
by the issue of new bonds bearing interest at
the rate of three per cent. and payable thirty
years from date. He also thinks that the
State tax can safely be reduced to the old
rate of mill and quarter. Both these rec
concentrations are in the right direction.
The National Guard comes in for good
word, as do ''the agricultural interests"
Caution in regard to new legislation concern
ing insurance companies is recommended.
Sunday work on railroads is thus spoken of:
'sAny legislation which does not interfere
with acts of necessity or mercy, which guar
antees undisturbed worship of God to those
who choose to worship and Sunday rest to
as many as possible of the railroad employees
in the State, is right in itself and will meet
with public approval" 1t is declared that
Intelligent selfshness and unselfsh charity
alike forbid that the with ering hand of
false retrenchment should ever touch either
the Reform or the Industrial school"
Probably no part of the message will be
more eagerly read than that in which the
labor question is discussed. The Governor
''the labor voten He favors the enactment
of statute exempting from attachment the
wages Of mechanics and laborers on the
ground that such statute would take away
that basis of credit which is now furnished
by our factorizing laws, would compel the
storekeeper to refuse to trust except in cases
of undoubted personal character and respon-
sibility, and would tend to bring about week
ly payments in all the factories. Concerning
wise scheme shall be devised whereby the
State can sell at its full value some fit pro-
duct of the labor of its convicts instead of
the labor itself, and when the demands of
justice shall be so needed that the short sem
tences Of the present courts give place to the
longer ones which our criminals richly de-
serve, the question will not be so trouble
some.
the message is strong on education. The
Governor says that no report of the able
school board, no statistics nf census could
show the frightful amount of illiteracy that
is existing all over the State. "Within the
last ten years thousands of boys and girls
have passed beyond the limit of their school
life, have gone out into the world, and to-
day they are virtually unable to read and
write" "The number of days of compul-
sorry attendance was set at sixty, when the
most that could reasonably have been ex-
more in sixty days of the year than they
would forget in the remaining three hundred.
Worse than that the Site failed to lift its
strong arm to put into the hands of all its
starving children even this poor crust" He
thinks the number of days of compulsory
attendance should be increased to one hun
dred and twenty, and that extra efforts
should be made to give the children proper
schooling. Perhaps the Governor makes the
situation seem a little more horrible than it
really is, but it is undoubtedly bad enough.
The recommendation made concerning the
revision of the statutes should be acted up
on. He says: sBefore accepting their (the
eommissioners0 work you will give the SUBJ
jest thorough consideration and satisfy your
selves that their revision will be guide to
the citizens as well as to the courts of the
State" This is to the point. 1t is to be
hoped that there will be no such work as
there was with the revision of 1875.
These are the main points in the message,
which will, as whole, make good i'm
preston.